Lord Rama of Kalyug

During the days of my childhood, summer vacations were my favourite time. I used to visit my ancestral village of Kavatpur with my parents and spend the entire two months in the warm and loving comfort of my grandmother's lap. Even though several years had passed by, I still remember all those bedtime stories, she used to tell me. All her stories were so fabulous that they are going to remain etched in memory for a whole lifetime. But the story that she had named, 'Lord Rama of Kalyug', is really very close to my heart.

I was in my fourth standard when I heard the story from her. One night, I crawled by her side on the bed after having dinner and cajoled her to tell me a story. She smiled at me and ran her hand lovingly on my forehead.

"You must have heard the story of Lord Shree Rama who had sacrificed his throne and luxuries of a palace and opted to toil in forests only to fulfill his father's promise made to his stepmother and safeguard his father's honour, isn't it?" She asked me.

I noded politely in reply.

"There was a little boy named Adi who followed the footsteps of Lord Rama and defended his father's honour just like him. Do you want me to tell you, Adi's story?"

"Yes," I grinned happily.

"Adi was studying in the second standard at that time. He stood first in his class and won a gold medal. His class teacher Shweta madam patted his shoulder and said, "Adi, I'm sure that you will grow up to become one of the most successful man and make the whole village proud of you."

Adi was on cloud nine that day. He rushed back to his home and went straight to his father as Adi was very close to him. But that day, his father was also in the seventh heaven as his younger sister's marriage got fixed. Both father and son exchanged the happy news that they had to tell and their joy doubled. Adi's father promised to the groom's father that he will give a huge amount as dowry on his only sister's marriage which was to be held two months later.

During those two months, Adi held the gold medal close to his heart as the words of his teacher rang continously in his ears. The gold medal had now become Adi's most prized possession and he couldn't even dream of living on, without it. But those two months were a nightmare for his father as he had suffered a terrible loss in business. Adi's father Surya Narayana was toiling day and night to arrange for the amount that he had promised to give away as dowry to his sister.

Surya Narayana sold everything he had except the bungalow they were living but still he was short of money. He started spending sleepless nights worrying about his sister's marriage. If he were not able to give any dowry, it would be considered a breach of promise by the groom's family and Surya Narayana's family name will become tainted. He will soon lose his reputation in the society. When little Adi came to know about his father's plight, he thought of a solution and went straight to his father.

"Baba," Adi said smiling, "I have found a solution to your problem."

"What is it?"

"You can sell my gold medal and arrange for aunt's dowry," Adi reassured.

"But you are so fond of this medal, isn't it?" Surya Narayana decided to test his son. "Will you be able to part from it?"

"Nothing matters to me more than you and our family's honor, Baba." Adi said proudly.

On listening to his words, Surya Narayana's eyes filled up.

"The cost of your gold medal is much less when compared to my debt but it's worth is much higher. It is a token of a son's selfless love and devotion towards his father. I don't have to worry about my debt as long as I have a son like you who is willing to sacrifice his most precious possession just like Lord Rama. Adi, you are the Lord Rama of Kalyug." With those words, Surya Narayana hugged Adi as he felt his chest swell with pride and his ecstacy flowed out in the form of tears.

When the groom's family came to know about Surya Narayana's misery, they agreed to marry his sister without a dowry. And hence, Adi's aunt was married off happily.

"Do you know, honey, what this story teaches us? My grandma asked me. "It tells us that love, understanding, and sacrifices are the foundations on which relationships are built."

I smiled and hugged her thankfully for telling me such a lovely story.